Angels: Our strange neighbors

There was a huge tsunami a few years ago. It was a horrible disaster, and many people were killed. Many were asking the age-old question, "How could God do something like this?"

Let's respond to that question with a question: Did God do it?

The Jewish people of Jesus' time believed that angelic forces, good and evil, controlled the weather. This idea is supported, repeatedly, throughout the Bible.

Remember the story of how Jesus was sleeping in the fishing boat while the apostles were terrified they would die in the terrible storm that raged around them? According to Luke, Jesus "rebuked the wind and the raging waters.” A moment later, the lake and the wind were calm.

Just who was Jesus talking to? Water? Air? This idea is not out of the question, I suppose. I mean, if Jesus was/is God, then He could command anything.

Actually, when Jesus spoke, He was commanding the angelic forces, both good and evil, who are the current custodians of the earth’s weather.

The Biblical worldview is that we live in a "fallen world.” That means people are born flawed and naturally prone to doing nasty things. God did not create death or disease; it came into the world as a result of man’s sin. Angelic forces have a strong influence on what happens on the earth. The Bible says there are countless angels in existence. Many thousands of those angels are also fallen, and thus are heavily involved in destructive forces in Nature … and in human nature as well.

Evil happens in the world because evil comes naturally and easily in a fallen world. Bad things happen around us due to the influence of dark spiritual forces and fallen people. Sometimes, God intervenes. For example, Jesus stood up in the boat and stopped the storm.

In 2005, the dam at the Taum Sauk power plant in Missouri broke, and a billion gallons of water swept away a house and the sleeping family it contained. Jerry Toop ended up in a tree. Lisa Toop hung on to their two children, including a 7-month-old baby. Their third child also survived. Incredibly, the family made it through the disaster relatively uninjured.

Disaster happens. It is naturally inclined to do so. Sometimes, God intervenes.

According to the Bible, angelic forces are constantly in motion all around us. Good angelic forces are constantly battling evil spiritual forces. The outcomes of these conflicts directly affect the behavior of people around us, and the behavior of the elemental forces of weather as well.

Of course, you don't have to believe that.

But if the Biblical worldview is the correct view of reality, whether or not you believe it does not change that reality.

Ron Wenzel is an author and the pastor at Rosewood Heights Community Church. You can email him questions about angels at ron4jc2@yahoo.com or post them on the Angels: Our Strange Neighbors Facebook page. Future columns in AdVantageNews will respond to your questions!